No cut to gas bills for schools

THE energy regulator has ruled out any exemption for schools from paying the same gas charges as homes and businesses, despite efforts by the Department of Education.

Minister of State Sean Haughey told the Dáil last week that officials have been pursuing the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which regulates prices charged by Bord Gáis for gas and ESB for electricity, to seek ways of reducing bills for the country’s 4,000 primary and second-level schools.

But a spokesperson for the CER said that, while schools and others are welcome to seek more competitive prices from other providers whose prices it does not regulate, it is not likely to change its rules.

“We have been in general discussions with the Department of Education in relation to the costs of gas to schools. But there are no plans to change policy under which all gas customers are charged by Bord Gáis based on their usage,” he said.

It is understood the regulator’s position is based on the fact that reducing tariffs paid by schools would result in other customers facing a hike in their bills. All Bord Gáis gas customers are charged the same and placed on different pricing bands depending on their overall energy consumption.

Labour Party education spokeman Ruairi Quinn said there should be no reason why schools could not seek collective deals on improved rates with gas or other energy suppliers, just as a group of third-level colleges have done recently with an electricity company to save around €1.5m a year.

“There is scope for huge competition in the schools’ market if they were free to negotiate together for one contract with the same supplier. It could be done, for example, on behalf of all schools under the same national management body or the same patron,” he said.

During last week’s debate on the issue, Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes said half of the €10,000 a typical school might spend on gas each year goes towards site charges, VAT and other fees over which the school has no control.

“A school might not be open for 100 days a year but it will be charged by the gas companies nonetheless. A fairer deal should be negotiable for schools, that would cut down on gas bills and allow them to use their money in other ways,” he said.